The San Francisco 49ers hit the road this Sunday to face the Dallas Cowboys at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas. What is surprising, and quite frankly a pleasant change, the 49ers are the healthiest they've been in recent memory.
Rookie running back Trey Sermon looks to be back this week since landing on IR in early December for an ankle injury.
So, what kind of impact will Sermon have to the 49er's backfield? Honestly, probably none. He would be an added depth piece sure but will more than likely find himself on special team's units which is still something.
The 49ers back field has been a bit of mystery this season. Rookie running back Elijah Mitchell has been the work horse for the 49ers, rushing for 963 yards on 207 carries and five touchdowns. The craziest part about Mitchell's production is he only played in 11 games this season.
Veteran running-back Jeff Wilson tore the meniscus in his knee during training camp and came back around mid-season. Wilson appeared in nine games this season and had 294 yards on 79 carries and two touchdowns.
Many people, including myself believed Wilson would be the 49ers third down back with a healthy Mitchell getting the workload. But that hasn't been the case.
Star wide receiver Deebo Samuel emerged as a legitimate threat in the backfield and is currently the team's second leading rusher carrying the ball 59 times for 365 yards and eight touchdowns.
For the last month, the 49ers have primarily used Mitchell and Samuel in the backfield, aside from Week 18 against the Rams when second year running back JaMycal Hasty got the third down back duties.
So where does Sermon, fit in?
Who knows? Sermon's running style doesn't necessarily fit the Kyle Shanahan scheme which is focused more on the outside zone.
Sermon could potentially provide a good change of pace for the 49ers and showed he could handle the carries against the Seahawks back in October when he rushed for 89 yards on 19 attempts.
The 49ers backfield should provide a lot for the Cowboys defense to prepare for. What we have seen over the course of the season is teams stacking the box to stop the run, and the 49ers still manage to establish the run.
Expect the 49ers running backs to have a big game on Sunday.